Last night I heard scratching in the wall and upon investigation found that a squirrel had managed to knock loose a piece of wood (I assume as there was no covering to be found) in the eaves where one level of roof (over main house) drops down to a second level of roof (over garage). As a temporary measure, as I had no other readily available supplies, I blocked the hole with some scrap wood and nailed in place until I could create a more permanent fix. My question is what would be the best approach.

The external hole itself is approximately 6"x 6" (I say approximately as it is really an isosceles triangle) and seems to be a no brainer (prep a board that I cut to size, nail in place). My question is really for backing behind it. In my limited examination looking into the gap I could see some posts that I believe was some of the beams from the attic. The total gap size is approximately the size of a toaster (could not think of how else to describe it).

Should I try to use some foam spray, and would that work (space seems a bit large for this to work properly) or otherwise fill in the space in some other way? My concern is less the squirrel as I am sure I could seal it well enough to keep it out, but smaller rodents and/or bugs/wasps finding their way in through such a convenient opening if I leave any space at all.

Don't be so confident in your ability to keep the squirrel(s) out...
– DJohnMJul 23 '14 at 15:47

Agreed, squirrels can certainly be ingenious. But as there is no food involved, and I suspect this was a nest builder given the time of the year, it is a race game until it finds another nest location :) (at least I hope!). And sadly I do not have a photo...
– ScratchesInTheNightJul 23 '14 at 17:12

1 Answer
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They chew, rather determinedly. Keeping them out when they want in is no small task, indeed. One approach with moderate success is to cover the opening with hardware cloth (heavy wire mesh) molded to fit and nailed carefully in place, and then spray foam. Board over the top if you like for appearances sake. The missing wood may well have been chewed away rather than knocked loose, given their usual mode of operation. Keep an eye out for new holes being chewed elsewhere on the house.

Great idea with the wire mesh (had not thought of that). That certainly sounds like it would work in my scenario. And you read my mind regarding other possible openings, I was going to take a good look at possible openings that this little guy might find intriguing. Thank you for the advice!
– ScratchesInTheNightJul 23 '14 at 18:02

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The main problem is ensuring that you are blocking the wildlife out rather than in!
– DJohnMJul 24 '14 at 0:30